Delicious and Simple Homemade Jam and Chutney

This year’s crop of British berries is a bumper one, thanks to the wet summer in 2012 followed by this year’s hot, sunny one.

Make the most of this abundance of sweet, juicy berries to create your own fresh, homemade jam.

From the UK’s obsession with the Great British Bake Off to Brad Pitt flying to France for his favourite pots of jam, homemade jam is having a moment.

Rosemary Jameson, founder of the Guild of Jam and Preserve Makers, is encouraging the UK to take advantage of summer berries and reap their benefits throughout the colder months. She said, “The routine of jam making can be very therapeutic, a great stress relief and a counterpoint to busy modern life”.

There is no end of ways to use it – you can dip into your supply to make jam tarts, Victoria sponges or just spread it on a slice of thick, freshly baked sourdough to warm you up on a cold autumn day.

And there’s no need to stop at jam. Served with a strong, hard cheese, homemade chutney is an indulgent autumn treat.

Strawberry jam

Make the most of seasonal berries and preserve their flavour all year round with our simple strawberry jam recipe.

Wash jam jars and place upside down in the oven at 100c to dry thoroughly. Place a small plate in the fridge for testing the jam later.

Hull the strawberries and add half to a preserving pan and crush them roughly with a potato masher; add the rest of the fruit, the sugar and the lemon juice. Stir all the ingredients together well off the heat.

Place the pan on the element and stir over a low heat until sugar has dissolved. You’ll know it’s dissolved as you won’t be able to hear the sugar scraping on the pan.

Add the butter, which will help disperse any foam which is a natural part of jam making. The butter helps minimise this, and disperses any foam back into the jam.

Bring to a rapid, rolling boil for four minutes. Don’t be afraid of the rolling boil, this is crucial to producing a jam that will set.

Spoon a little jam on to a chilled saucer, as soon as it is cool, run a finger through the jam so that the saucer is visible, if the finger line remains the jam and the jam wrinkles it is ready, if not boil a little longer and try again.

Ladle into the hot jars and fill until almost full to allow for shrinkage as the jam cools

Tip: If you’re sealing the traditional way, cover the surface of each jar with a waxed disc, with the shiny side downwards. Rinse a cellophane circle with a little water then put wetted side uppermost over the top of the jar and secure with an elastic band or add a screw topped lid.

Tip: Pot it prettily; add a few dried lavender petals and it will be a beautiful gift for your friends.

Blackberry jam

Preserve a seasonal glut of seasonal fruit and enjoy it into the colder months, with our delicious blackberry jam recipe – ideal for a breakfast treat.

Makes: 6 jars

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

1 kg (2¼lb) blackberries, picked over and any leaves discarded

1 kg (2¼lb) cooking apples, quartered, cored, peeled

300 ml (½pint) water

1.5 kg (3 lb 2 oz) granulated sugar

1 lemon, juice only

Small knob of butter, about 7 g (¼oz)

WHAT TO DO:

Wash jam jars and place upside down in the oven at 100c to dry thoroughly. Place a small plate in the fridge for testing the jam later.

Peel and cut the apples into blackberry-sized pieces and add to a preserving pan or the largest saucepan that you have. Add the water and start to simmer gently. Add the lemon juice to the pan and cook until the apples are soft – around 5-8 minutes depending on the jam. Add the blackberries, stir and take the pan off the heat.

Still with the pan off the heat, stir in the sugar, until it has almost dissolved. You’ll know it’s dissolving when you don’t hear or feel the sugar scraping on the pan as much when you stir.

When the sugar is almost completely dissolved, return the pan to the heat and bring to the boil. As it starts to boil, add the butter, which will help minimise and disperse any foam, which is a natural part of jam making.

Bring to a rapid, rolling boil for 15 minutes. Don’t be afraid of the rolling boil, this is crucial to producing a jam that will set.

Spoon a little jam on to a chilled saucer, as soon as it is cool, run a finger through the jam so that the saucer is visible. If the finger line remains and the jam wrinkles it is ready, if not boil a little longer and try again.

Ladle into the hot jars and fill until almost full to allow for shrinkage as the jam cools. If you’re sealing the traditional way, cover the surface of each jar with a waxed disc, with the shiny side downwards. Rinse a cellophane circle with a little water then put wetted side uppermost over the top of the jar and secure with an elastic band or add a screw topped lid. Label and leave to cool.

Blackberry and apple chutney

This tasty blackberry and apple chutney can be prepared well in advance and is a perfect accompaniment to gammon, turkey and beef, pork or game pies or a hard cheese.

Makes 2 x 450 g (1 lb) jars

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 50 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

450 g (1 lb) Bramley apples, peeled, cored and cut into small chunks

225 g (8 oz) eating apples, peeled, cored and cut into large chunks

225 g (8 oz) red onions, peeled and sliced

25 g (1 oz) root ginger, peeled and finely chopped

½ teaspoon peppercorns, roughly crushed

225 g (8 oz) granulated sugar

150 ml (¼ pint) cider vinegar

350 g (12 oz) blackberries

WHAT TO DO:

Place all the ingredients except the blackberries in a large heavy based saucepan. Cook gently, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered for about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally until the apples and onions are tender, the mixture has thickened and no watery juices remain.

Add the blackberries and cook for a further 10 minutes until they have softened but still hold their shape.

Spoon the hot chutney into warmed dry jars, seal with screw topped lids and leave to cool. Store unopened in a cool dark place up to 6 months. Chill once opened.

Salt and pepper squid with chili strawberry chutney

Strawberries aren’t just for jam – experiment and try them in chili chutney, accompanied by salt and pepper squid.

Put all the ingredients for the chutney, except the corn flour and water into a medium sized saucepan and cook over a gentle heat, stirring from time to time until the sugar has dissolved. Increase the heat slightly and simmer, stirring from time to time for 30 minutes until the strawberries are soft.

Mix the corn flour with the water until a smooth paste, stir into the chutney and cook for one minute until thickened and smooth. Leave to cool.

Remove the tentacles from inside the squid tubes, rinse tentacles and tubes well in cold water, drain and slice the tubes into 1 cm (½ inch) rings.

Spoon the peppercorns and salt on to a plate, add the corn flour and flour and mix together. Fork the egg white on a second plate to break up.

Half-fill a deep saucepan with oil and heat until the surface begins to shimmer. Meanwhile dip a few of the squid rings into the egg white, drain off the excess then toss in the flour. Drop one of the rings into the oil, if it bubbles instantly it is ready. Lower the flour coated squid into the oil with a draining spoon or frying basket. Cook for two-three minutes until the squid is pale golden brown and cooked through, lift out of the oil, drain well and transfer to a second plate lined with kitchen paper.

Continue dipping the squid slices and tentacles in the flour mix and frying in small batches until it is all cooked. Spoon on to fresh squares of kitchen paper or into lettuce leaves set on serving plates, spoon the chutney into small individual dishes, add to plates and serve immediately.

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